


Wolf at the Door

by George_Hale



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst and Romance, Comfort Sex, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:48:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26676949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/George_Hale/pseuds/George_Hale
Summary: Set around the time of 'Gethesmane' - season 4. Scully is suffering from cancer but offers to retrieve some evidence for Mulder from a frozen mountain in Canada. This secret mission involves spending the night in an abandoned cabin. In a nutshell, Skinner and Scully share body heat in a tent and a pack of wolves try to crash the party...This was an old fic originally posted to my X-Files fansite (smoke-signal.co.uk) There are lots of videos, stories and blog posts for fans of Skinner/Scully on there, and other pairings too :)
Relationships: Dana Scully & Walter Skinner, Dana Scully/Walter Skinner
Kudos: 15





	Wolf at the Door

**Author's Note:**

> “Everything's a dream when you're alone” - 'Swamp Thing', 1982.

Scully had been right to assume that her boss would not speak to her throughout their journey. He seemed more distant than usual when they trudged through the snow on a frozen mountain in Canada to reach the cabin Mulder had described.

The sun was going down, and the helicopter pilot had assured them that there would be blizzards tonight so to find shelter before it got dark.

Luckily, Fox Mulder had provided them with precise directions, and they only had to hike for an hour or so before they found the abandoned log cabin.

Skinner wasted no time in forcing open the front door. The snow was falling, and the wind was picking up, Dana watched as he secured the door behind them. She searched out the medical records that Mulder had requested, before safely stowing them away in her luggage.

For his part, Skinner was angry about this particular mission, and he didn't trust himself enough to speak on the subject at all. To busy himself, he set about bolting the doors and windows - securing their location before setting up a small tent.

The place was dusty and cold, the wind whistled through tiny gaps in the walls, at least inside the tent they would be completely sheltered.

'We're being picked up at dawn. Try and get some sleep.' Skinner advised her, his mouth set into a grim line of resignation. Dana nodded at him and started to unpack her sleeping bag.

They both removed their snow-clogged boots and set up their respective sleeping areas in the tent. They discarded their coats and gloves, but it made sense to sleep fully clothed.

Dana broke at least some of the tension by pouring hot coffee from a flask and sharing it with her boss. Skinner thanked her, and they sat in silence as they enjoyed their drinks. Scully was relatively content to remain this way until they decided to sleep.

'Are you okay, Dana?' Skinner demanded over his drink. Dana was surprised to find him watching her intently.

'I'm fine.' she assured him, wishing she could believe those words more than anything in the world.

Dana knew that Skinner would always have insisted on helping, whether she was dying or not. Still, she regretted dragging him out there at that moment.

Her illness was never far from her mind, casting its shadow over her - hovering like a bird of doom. She worked hard to keep the terrifying thoughts at bay but in the stillness of every moment, and especially at night- she would feel the icy clutch at her heart- she could run no more.

'What are you thinking about?' Skinner asked her, unable to ignore the lost look in her eyes.

'"Everythings a dream when you're alone." I heard that in a sci-fi movie back in the '80s but can't remember the title. Do you know it?' she asked him, frowning.

'I'm afraid not.' he returned gently.

'Nevermind.'

'Is that how you feel?'

'What?'

'Alone?'

'Sometimes. It's strange waiting, knowing everything will end.'

Skinner watched her gravely, reflecting a while before responding.

'Nothings ending.'

'Try not to think of death as an ending, think of it instead as the start of a new adventure. Yeah, I've heard them all, Skinner.' Dana informed him.

'No, you're not ending' he iterated in a final tone.

'Somehow, when you say it like that, I can almost believe it.'

'Whatever you need to believe Dana, I know that this isn't the end.'

'No matter what happens, Mulder must keep working. He needs it now more than ever.' Dana explained, her eyes steely.

Skinner's silence was telling as he settled down to sleep. Dana was cold now that night had come. As she laid down to rest - she wondered if this was how death would feel. Cold, confusing, and so very lonely. She imagined the world ending like the Norse legend foretold - under a blanket of snow that would cover the sun.

Scully had already heard the wolf at the door a few times in her life. She had been close to death before, but now, having lost touch with her faith, she saw herself swiftly approaching a darkened abyss.

'This was a ridiculous idea.' Skinner observed, giving in to the urge to speak his mind at last.

'Why?' she felt strange laying in the dark and hearing his voice nearby.

'It's below zero. We're spending the night on a frozen mountain during a snowstorm because Mulder was indisposed and couldn't fetch this evidence for himself. And for what?'

'You didn't have to come with me.' Dana returned defensively, wanting to spite him - he suddenly sat upright in his sleeping bag.

'Of course, I did! Someone needed to. You're not supposed to be here right now, but you wouldn't listen to reason, so here we both are.'

'Why are you so angry with me?'

'It's clear that my opinion holds so little weight with you - it's infuriating.'

'Well, tell me what's on your mind, then?'

'I only have one opinion. You should be sleeping in your home tonight.'

'And where should you be?'

Skinner fell silent again, temporarily thrown by the wording of this question- he grumbled deeply before responding.

'It doesn't matter. At least I'd know that you were safe.'

'I'm safe now.' Scully insisted as a wolf howled in the distance - neither inhabitant of the tent spoke for several seconds.

'You were saying?' Skinner prompted sarcastically, making Scully sigh heavily with frustration.

'Can't you just go back to saying reassuring things to me?'

'What do you want me to say?'

'I don't know. Is it getting colder, somehow? I'm freezing.' Dana watched her boss react automatically to her words.

He unzipped and then connected their sleeping bags, before laying back down and extending an arm out to her in silent invitation.

'Get closer to me.' he insisted, she felt some instant comfort and warmth from the proximity as she laid on her side and rested her head on his shoulder.

Skinner instinctively held Dana closer as a wolf sounded again - his call not so distant this time and then accompanied by the cries of several others.

'I'm scared.' Dana admitted the fearful words that were usually not part of her vocabulary.

'You're a force of nature, Dana. You shouldn't be scared of anything.'

'I'm glad that you're here.' Dana told him again as she tried to make out the sound of his heartbeat through his thermal clothes.

Skinner squeezed her arm gently in acknowledgement. Her gratitude meant a lot to him, and he wanted her to know that.

Dana laid her leg on top of his, her hand seeking his - looking for comfort. He took up her hand and gripped it tightly.

'We should get some sleep.' he repeated like an automaton, scared of what might happen if they remained conscious even a minute longer.

He worried that they were about to cross a line. They might not be able to come back if they went any further.

'Please don't say that?' she pleaded with him and won her case in an instant, he held her hand- wondering if it was not so late after all, for them, for this.

'I'm not sure you understand what it is I want from you.' he admitted, his breath visible in the chill air, the words hanging like smoke.  
Dana knew - she understood because it was a shared desire now.

'What if I did?' she asked him, sitting up again, her face inches from his as she posed the question.

The question set Skinner off, he took the risk and leaned in to kiss her, knowing in an instant that he never wanted to go home again, he wanted to be here in this moment forever.

Even by the weak glow of the lamp, her beauty struck Walter still. He was awed by the realization that it was Dana kissing him, at long last.

He would never go wanting while he had this feeling, the feeling that nothing could ever harm either of them if they stayed together this way.

The wolves started to howl again, they sounded close, but their ominous cry went unnoticed by Skinner and Scully who were finding each other at last.

'Walter, please hurry?' Dana issued this choked off plea between kisses, trying to pull him on top of her.

Dana wanted to be bruised by his fingertips, held tightly - to be bitten instead of kissed.

She was angry and scared - seeing this in her was the only thing that felt familiar as Skinner gave her what she wanted.

Dana was concerned about hyperventilating. She could barely catch her breath as he finished tearing at the last of her clothes. Bare enough to enter, Scully cried out in relief when he covered her straight away.  
Reaching down between them, Skinner found her wet and slippery to the touch. He stroked his cock, lubing himself up. Not wanting to hurt her with his entry.

Dana was scared that her heart would burst - that they would never get to complete this moment. Skinner seemed to sense this, his kisses then were comforting, reassuring her.

He lined himself up, issuing a low guttural sound when he breached her at last.

Their eyes locked at that moment - they both looked shocked when he set his jaw and forced himself deeper inside. His hands slipped behind her knees, opening her up, and he gained much better access very suddenly. They both groaned in satisfaction when he thrust hard and got all the way home.

Dana swore softly at the explosive feeling of being filled by him - she wrapped her arms around his neck, adjusting to the sensation. Skinner waited to see that she was comfortable, kissing her softly on the mouth.

'I've wanted you for so long.' Skinner confessed, whispering his secret low against her ear.

He started to move, not waiting for any responding sentiments from his lover. Dana was still trying to catch her breath - stunned by the confession. She felt herself getting carried under by need. Dana started to absorb his thrusts, rising to meet him and generating animal noises from them both with her efforts.

She suddenly pushed at his chest, trying to hold him off even as he started to groan and take her harder.

'Wait!'

'What's wrong?' Skinner asked desperately, slowing to a halt took all the power he possessed.

'This is happening so fast. Can we slow down for a moment?'

Walter understood her meaning well enough. He nodded because words failed him at that moment.

His kisses were searching, and they left no room for doubt. Dana returned his caresses and then pulled him tighter against her again. His need for her was fierce and violent, but he worked hard to make it slow. Skinner felt emotional at the idea that this moment mattered to her too.

Feeling her respond to him - hearing her unconscious moaning, it was far more than Skinner could stand - he gave her everything he had as his pace increased.

The wolves sounding again alerted Dana - she looked to Skinner, but he refused to acknowledge them. They both heard scratching at the front door, it was insistent and coupled with sniffing and whining. Skinner covered her mouth with his hand when she voiced concern. He shushed her and kept thrusting.

The wolves cleared out, the area silent again. Skinner's hand fell away from her mouth - sign enough that his control was slipping as he swore desperately and held Dana in place.

They both fought to get closer to each other, chasing their impending climax. Knowing it would heal and set the world to rights.

Skinners mind went blank as she called out for him in the cold night. All he could feel or think about was the blinding, incredible heat she was sharing.

They both laughed when it happened. The explosion made all the more perfect for Skinner because they were sharing it. It was a draining release that left them both weak for long seconds afterwards.

Skinner remained poised above Dana, all his weight resting on his forearms as he caught his breath. She seemed relieved that he did not immediately disengage and continued to hold him close.

'Have I hurt you?' Skinner panicked when he saw the tears rolling down Dana's face.

'No, I don't know why.' she informed him when they continued to fall.

'I loved it' she assured him, laughing again with confusion - trying to reassure him by pulling him back into her arms.

'I felt numb for so long and then suddenly, to feel everything. It's strange.'

'I understand.' Skinner returned, holding her close again - hearing her try and catch her breath against the hollow of his throat.

'You're so strong.' she mused, thinking how his vitality had never been more remarkable to her before.

'Strong enough for both of us.' he informed her, biting off his need to beg her for survival.

'If only it worked that way.' she mused, understanding him well enough and seeing him turn away at these words.

There was the prickle of tears at the corners of his eyes. He forced the emotion back - needing to be present now and not give way to despair.

'When we go home--' Skinner started asking a question he had no clue how to finish.

'I'll never forget this.' she assured him, smiling in understanding.

'Neither will I.' he returned, she nodded back at him. It was enough.


End file.
